Shrek city
Fan Lin went to find an inn in the Shrek city since the competition for the admission assessment was in a few days and the town was pretty rowdy over it.
At this time, most of the inns were already full. Aademies had pre-booked them ages ago for their students that would be here for the admission test. A good mentality makes a lot of difference, more so when the children were in great pressure over the 'SHREK' exams and even the slightest of mishappenings can seriously affects their performance in the assessments.
Hence even after searching for everywhere, Fan Lin didn't find any available inns in the near vicinity of the Shrek academy and had to search for a place to stay farther than he would have liked. This was the guy who had planned a massive massacre just a while and he didn't even bother to book an inn for something that he had planned uears ago.
At last, he was able to find a shabby looking inn, nearly two hours away from the Shrek Academy, just a few minutes walk to the same train station he had arrived on.
'I should have slept on the grass like others.'
'What did 'not prefer luxury hence he settled in a shabby inn'. That Wu Zhangkong was just not able to find an inn and that's why he had to stay at the shabby inn. The novel was a lie.'
As a few bits of memories came rushing forward at the sight of the shabby inn, he grumbled in irritation over the random surge of memories that he unceremoniously experiences every now and then. This was getting annoying with the passage of time.
'Hmm. Wu Zhangkong. Shabby inn. It can't be, right? Don't be true.'
As the dots seem to connect a little too smoothly over the oddity of his situation, a voice came to his ears. One that he was pretty familiar with due to his stalking in the past and rhe fact that it hadn't changed much over the years.
...
"Wulin, why do you think Teacher Wu is so stingy with the rooms? He should have a good salary from the academy, and he's even a battle armor master! You should have seen how awesome it was! He's got to be rich since he made his battle armor!"
....
'I should have totally slept on the grass. At least this explains why there weren't any more people at the inn. If there were, how would they get a room.'
'Though of all the people I did not want to meet, I met them here.'
He thought and shook his head. One way or another, he was 'coincidentally' near them. Fan Lin was not afraid that his interaction with Wulin would cause Butterfly effect. If he was then he would not killed. The problem was the stalker that was stalking Wulin. The black dragon whose name he had forgotten. The one who worked as Gu Yue's sidekick cum bodyguard/stalker. The one who was stronger than any Limit Douluo(Rank 99) on the entire planet.
That thing was the problem. As till the time it served as Gu Yue's henchmen, Gu Yue might just release him upon him if she realises, forget realisation, if she even doubted that he will or can harm Wulin.
The Heavenly Fate wouldn't be there to protect him. It would most likely aide her instead.
*Sigh*
He calmly got inside his room and started to cultivated. Making any suspicious actions so close to Gu Yue wasn't a good idea.
That woman was disgustingly parasocial.
He erased his thoughts for a second, and just a second, and cleared his mind of his unnecessary things. A purple ring was floating on his left side while a green ring on his right. The purple soul ring ability was finally activated for the first time since he advanced it to purple thousand year old spirit soul ring ability and Fan Lin began to meditate.
*Flashback*
[ Your soul skill Ultimate digestion evolved to Energy body.
Energy body: Active skill. When used, absorbs soul energy from the surrounding. Provides complete digestion of food.]
[ Your martial soul low class Blue Silver grass has evolved to Blue Silver energy grass due to the Energy body skill.]
[Blue Silver Energy grass: It is an evolved from of blue silver grass. It helps to absorb energy a tiny bit faster. That's it.
Numerically, it would now be rank 2 in innate soul power]
*Flashback ends*
Fan Lin peeked a glance at his purple spirit soul. The snake has become more beautiful and bigger than before. The snake hissed at him, he hissed back. The snake looked elsewhere. They really didn't like him be it now or then.
'Is he rolling his eyes on me. That's quite intelligent. Where as my human faced spider looked less horrifying. Kinda opposite of what she should be looking. She had grown larger and her size has also increased. I still don't understand how does she grow though... Neither of them wants to have any contact with me. Pretty hated, aren't I? Later then'.
"First impressions. First impressions."
*Three days later*
Shrek Academy.
I got up from my meditation and stretched a bit. According to the schedule, the exams would start tomorrow.
"Stretching has no effect on me now."
I took a bath, ate some carrots and took a cab to reach my destination an hour and a half later. It was the time to rendezvous with my information broker.
An hour and half though?
I can guess why this inn was the only one that was empty till now.
The cab drove me in front of the 'Legendary Shrek Academy' gates.
I got off and took a look at the bustling city with waves of humans going in and out of the academy.
"Now that I am here. Should I continue my side business? Or not?"
I once again asked myself. Regretting later wasn't something I wanna do.
"That's why, let's take every step with precautions since the biggest threat is what I want to do."
Taking more time won't hurt. I am the one who has to accept my answers anyway. I should spend a few days at the academy, do some digging and then... and only then do I decide or I should decide.
I don't think I need any more wealth. I am not particularly angry as well.
With the novel having 2000+ chapters(maybe), and the authors tendency of presenting plot twists and powerful hidden sects and important hidden powers and what not. Whatever I had read in the first 400 chapters could just be a twist as well. What if Wulin somehow changed into a female due to some Yin Yang stuff or maybe Gu Yue was actually a male in disguise?
Could be anything. Who knows.
My imagination was the scary thing.
I should go meet her, having logistics wouldn't hurt. If I later change my mind, I can just not create any. Simple.
...
Shrek Academy, the number one academy that was located in the number one city of the continent, was a place that countless people yearned to enter.
Shrek Academy's campus was vast, a small town unto itself.
It actually used to be the original Shrek City until Spirit Ice Douluo Huo Yuhao, the Spirit Pagoda's founder, proposed an expansion. Only then did the city grow much larger.
Since today was the eve of Shrek Academy's entrance exams, every inn in the city was filled to the brim with hopeful examinees, their teachers, and the heads of their families. The city was overrun with people.
Merchants seized this opportunity to turn a profit by selling old exam questions and rules. Some sold spirit items while others sold soul devices. Food stalls basically lined up the streets with none an empty and none without smiling faces.
The masses of people worked in tandem, benefiting from one another. Everyone was enjoying the grand night that will follow the beginning of a new life for many.
Fan Lin returned to the inn and began to meditate.
The Shrek Academy entrance exam had three known requirements. First, examinees had to be sent by a major city. Second, examinees could be no more than fifteen years of age. Third, the soul power of an examinee had to be rank 25 at the very least.
These were also the basic requirements, but the most important requirement of all had been decreed 20,000 years ago.
Shrek Academy did not accept ordinary people. On the contrary, they only accepted monsters. As a result, Shrek Academy has championed the moniker of "Monster Academy" since ancient times. Also it was nearly obliterated two times and had its fair share of struggles and hardships so it likes to brainwash its children with cryptic old traditional beliefs.
Why am I getting this speculative information memories now?
....
The next day
Fan Lin got up from his bed, got ready and booked a cab for the Shrek Academy once again.
(He had paid the cab driver beforehand)
Ancient city walls extending beyond his vision towering over like an enormous dragon coiled around the academy, plain and undecorated without even a signboard to mark the location.
A surge of energy filled crowd was currently assembled outside the gate as they were still not allowed to go in. It was 6 in the morning and the surrounding was a sea of people with 'excitement' in their veins.
[...sure?]
'Kinda reminds me of certain religious practices.'
Soon the gate opened and an announcement came: Only the students taking the exams and their teachers are allowed in. Anyone else will be forcefully removed.
I repeat : Only the students taking the exams and their teachers are allowed in.
Just as the announcement was playing, one crazy woman dashed into the Academy with full speed, let me rephrase, a woman tried to dash into the academy before being thrown outside and not a single person cared for her.
He looked at the woman with craze written on her face and realised that even the title of the strongest academy isn't feared by the crazy individuals.
Just as he was thinking that, two more men tried to enter the academy and got thrown.
After a few more people got thrown out, did the crowd calmed tensed a little bit and the announcer asked them to enter quietly. Which they did.
The students and their teachers slowly entered the Shrek Academy gates.
Fan Lin choose one group and joined them since no one stopped him.
And soon they began walking faster and faster.
....
The ground at the plaza was made of ashen-gray stones, which were larger than the black rocks that paved the roads. There were buildings of similar height and ancient architecture arranged on the perimeter of half of the circular plaza. Using just my eyes to estimate, I knew that the plaza was at least one kilometer long in diameter. The buildings were made of unknown stone, various figures carved into it.
Contained within semicircle of buildings was the plaza, and in the plaza's center was a circular man-made pond approximately one hundred meters in diameter. At the middle of a fountain stood a majestic sculpture...
Fan Lin saw a sculpture which can made even the legendary Moonlight Sculpture to praise in envy. Life-like, the art piece featured the only person who could compare with Tang San, the founder of the Tang Sect. It was the Spirit Pagoda's founder, the master of the Sea God's Pavilion within Shrek in that era. The Spirit Ice Douluo, Huo Yuhao.
He was carved as the center and revered figure, his great spirit souls surrounding him as if they were his guardians.
Spirit Ice Douluo Huo Yuhao was the sole being of his era to ascend to godhood! That his sculpture could be found here was testimony to his great influence.
"If only... If only I was born in your era. I would have changed this world. History would have been written then."
"This is Spirit Ice Plaza. It was built ten thousand years ago when Shrek Academy started to expand into what is now the inner city. Currently, the main school buildings for the outer court are located here. As you may have guessed, it was named after the world-shaking Spirit Ice Douluo, Huo Yuhao. I'm sure you've all heard of his legends, so I'll leave it at that. Let's enter the school building now." After the Guide's simple explanation they went towards the test venue.
And I shook my head in visible irritating. Some new 'knowledge' popped up in mind again. Unnecessary knowledge gains.
'Heh?'
'Wait. Well, forget it. I will deal with this later.'
'Also,'
'Do these guys memorize all this? I am pretty sure even Shen Yi said the same to Wulin'.
"This building is called House Shrek. The murals on the walls and ceiling detail our twenty thousand years of history."
So prestigious! Twenty thousand years of history! This should be my reaction but it isn't. Also where are the ones that showed the tough times of the academy? I don't see them.
I know~ A foundation spanning across eras was truly awe-inspiring but I have done worse. Although the other students didn't share the same thoughts of me and looked at the statues in such a reveration that if not for the hurry, they would have bowed down.
'Those four thought the same as well...'
Fan Lin pondered if there was a subtle mind interference or something, or else how do they invoked that feeling into him as well, although it was truly low and didn't see to affect him that much but it was present and it tried to affect him.
Maybe the cryptic brainwashing part was right.
Unlike him though, the other students seemed to be charmed. Only now did most of the students who came to take the exams understand why Shrek Academy was known as the sacred temple of soul masters. Traveling to Shrek Academy was like making a pilgrimage! If they were privileged enough to study here, they would have an unforgettable experience for the rest of their lives.
Their thoughts heavily influenced by something, Fan Lin was sure of that since he was starting to perceive the same thing despite the fact that he wasn't here to study but to use the resources that the academy provided. The more he stayed there, the higher the emotional dabbling.
So he cleared his emotions and went ahead with a new mind
After passing through two more corridors, they arrived in a round hall. Its domed ceiling stretched twenty meters high. Additionally, there was a mural painted on the ceiling just as the previous hall had been. This was the first test hall.
'At least inform me before you start the test'.
Fan Lin thought in his mind as the heavy pressure affected him without any preparation. After fifteen minutes, he sat on the ground. He couldn't take it anymore. He looked around him and found that more than 89 students were still standing.
His spiritual power needed some boost or he may be useless despite his physicals.
'If only...'
First trial pass. Score 7. Good for me.
The beast arena was the second trial of Shrek Academy's entrance exam.
The strength and number of soul beasts in the trial varied depending on the number of participants. Surviving for one minute was the minimum requirement for passing the trial, while harming the beasts awarded bonus points.
'I need to gain ten points here because that witch above will definitely cut my marks.'
Fan Lin got transported into the illusion world. He faced a wolf type beast. He chose to survive. It was easy. He had experienced.
Second test passed. Score 6. Good.
"The third trial tests your ability to adapt. Once I tell you to get ready, you will have one minute to prepare. Once I shout for you to begin, you will have to pass through all of the gates. If you finish within thirty seconds, you get six points. For every three seconds you finish early, you get an additional point. For every three seconds you're late, you will lose one point. There are two things you need to know about this trial. First, the closer you are to each gate, the faster its guillotine will fall. Since these are real guillotines, you will die if they strike you. Second, you can get a negative score for this trial. If you can't even pass this trial, then forget about taking the later trials. Raise the guillotines!"
"Hmmm. This should do."
Fan Lin created two crystal walls on this path calmy ran through the guillotine trial. His crystal walls stopping the guillotines from coming any closer to him. Several othersclosely followed behind him and they all got full points.
" Passed. 7.9 seconds. 10 points."
'Easy peasy'.
...
La lala la la